Aviram Awards Competition

Official Rules

By entering the Aviram foundation and Forbes Aviram Awards Competition (the “Contest” or “Competition”), you (“Entrant” “you” “your”) hereby agree to the Official Rules provided below. Your participation in the Contest and use of the Forbes.com website (the “Website”) operated by Forbes Media LLC (“Sponsor”) is also conditioned upon your agreement to abide by our Terms of Service (available at: https://www.forbes.com/terms). Please review our Terms of Service, in addition to these Official Rules, before participating in the Contest. 

No Purchase or Fee Necessary to Enter or Win.

1.  To Enter: The Contest has a two-part entry process: registration/initial entry submission and a potential, more detailed follow-up final entry submission. To submit a registration/initial entry, visit https://forbes.com/sites/aviram-foundation/2022/12/05/aviram-awards-a-competition-for-promising-startups-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-that-change-humanity-for-the-better/, anytime between 6 December 2022 and 30 January 2023 and complete and submit the Contest registration, including a written pitch (1,000 words or less) describing your business idea or product/service that through technology and innovation will create change and improve peoples’ lives. You may compete in the Competition if you are a business owner or team leader with a viable tech start-up (or concept) that will contribute to humanity in fields such as, but not limited to, health, transportation, community, environment, energy, education, etc. Entrant’s submitted Contest registration and written presentation is collectively referred to as an “Initial Entry”. Initial Entries will be reviewed and screened for eligibility compliance by a Forbes’ partnering agency for basic eligibility compliance and suitability for continuing in the Contest at the discretion of Forbes or Forbes’ partnering agency; entrants may be contacted for an online video interview to help with this determination. Entrants who are deemed to be suitable for continuing will be notified via email, and invited to complete and submit the more detailed final entry form, including an initial video (90 seconds or less), describing your business idea or product/service (“Final Entry” or “Entry”). All Entries (not the concepts) become the property of Forbes Media LLC and will not be returned. Please refer to clause 7 on how your Entry will be used. Limit one (1) Entry per person/business/concept. Multiple Entries from an individual or team will be disqualified. All Initial Entries must be completed and submitted and received by 11:59:59 p.m. ET USA on 30 January 2023. All Final Entries, if applicable, must be completed and submitted and received by 11:59:59 p.m. ET USA on 6 February 2023. Participants are responsible for determining the corresponding time zone in their respective location for entry.

2.  Entry Guidelines: Entrant must be either an owner or executive in a position to influence the direction of the business concept presented in the Entry. In order to qualify, your business venture must be in Pre-seed or Seed phase. The business (or concept) presented in the Entry should be one that has a positive social, environmental, and/or human impact as an inherent and intentional part of its core strategy. See FAQs for suggested categories and see Judging Criteria in section 3 for more information and guidance. Entries must be submitted in English and must be complete to be eligible. Your submitted Initial Entry presentation must be original to you and not based upon any other material or source (except those for which you have obtained all necessary rights in writing) and either an original idea, unpublished prior to entry, or an idea you conceived and have full rights to present as your own. The entry presentation must be conceived and created entirely by you and not previously or currently submitted for consideration in any other promotion. Modifying, enhancing, or altering a third party’s pre-existing work does not qualify as an original creation. By submitting your entry into the Contest, you represent and warrant that: (1) you are the sole creator and owner of all right, title, and interest in and to the content submitted by you hereunder (e.g., your Entry); and (2) no content submitted by you hereunder is (i) false or inaccurate, defamatory, obscene, objectionable, lewd, lascivious, scandalous, offensive, fabricated, or promotes, depicts, or endorses any activities that involve gambling, alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, or weapons of any kind, or which may be unsafe, dangerous, illegal, contain nudity, inconsistent with the positive goodwill associated with Forbes (“Sponsor”) and the Aviram Foundation, or otherwise in poor taste in the Administrator’s opinion, (ii) violate the rights of privacy, intellectual property or any other rights of any person or entity, (iii) misappropriate any trade secret, (iv) disclose any confidential information of any third party, (v) depict any person who is considered a minor in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides without the written permission of such minor’s parent or guardian, (vi) contain copyrights or trademarks owned by a third party (except to reference Sponsor), (vii) violate any applicable laws, rules, regulations, or customs deemed of public policy. You will indemnify and hold harmless the Releasees (defined below) from and against any claims arising from or relating to your breach of your representations and warranties herein or the use of your Entry by Sponsor as provided herein. You represent and warrant that: (1) you will not receive any compensation or credit for submitting your Entry for consideration; (2) you recognize that your Entry (inclusive of any ideas, concepts, plans, or other elements contained or described therein) may be identical or similar to other submissions or materials already known to the parties which may receive, review or judge your Entry (“Recipients”) at any phase of the Contest, and, accordingly, you represent and warrant that you have submitted your Entry voluntarily and not in confidence and that no fiduciary or confidential relationship is intended or created between you and any Recipients; (3) you understand that the Recipients’ use of any materials that are identical or similar to your Entry will not entitle you to any compensation or other entitlement if the Recipients determine that they have an independent legal right to use such material (for example, because elements were not novel or original, or were independently created by the Recipients or a third party); and (4) by receiving or reviewing your Entry, the Recipients assume no obligation of any kind (including, without limitation, an obligation to pay money for an “idea submission”).

3.  Judging Criteria: All entries will be judged equally on the following criteria in each round:
i.   overall quality, creativity and originality of Entry 
ii.  how well the Entry illustrates your business idea 
iii. the business idea’s potential to make a significant positive social, environmental, and/or human impact and help solve a problem in our world today 
 
Any submitted entries containing inappropriate content of any kind or that are deemed to not be in keeping with Sponsor’s image will be disqualified. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to declare non-qualified entries (those that are plagiarized; are created under false pretenses or with false statements; show obvious lack of effort; contain incomplete, inapplicable, or inappropriate content, etc.; or that are otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules as determined by Sponsor, or Administrator in their sole discretion) ineligible.
 
4.  Judging and Verification: Entries will be judged according to the criteria listed above in all rounds of judging, under the supervision of Promosis, Inc. (“Administrator”), an independent judging organization whose decisions in all matters relating to this Contest are final. In the event of a tie in any of the judging rounds, the tied entries will be re-judged using the identical criteria until the designated number of semi-finalists, finalists, and winners are determined.
 
Round One Judging: Entries will be judged, approximately between 7 February 2023 and 19 February 2023 to determine not more than fifteen (15) potential Semi-Finalists, based on review and the established Judging Criteria listed above. Round One judging will include a panel of executives, judging at their sole and independent professional judgment, based on the criteria and methodology described herein. Potential Semi-Finalists will be notified of their status by Promosis, on or around 20 February 2023, via the email address provided with the applicable Entry. Entries judged to be one of the fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists after the initial screening and judging round will be subject to individual verification by Promosis. Verification will determine eligibility of each Semi-Finalist Entry for inclusion in successive rounds of the Contest. Each Semi-Finalist Entry will be reviewed, an if, in the independent judging organization’s sole opinion, an Entry is determined to be ineligible according to the above criteria, that Entry will be disqualified, and the Entry judged to be next in line will be included in the group of Fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists. Each potential Semi-Finalist will be required to complete an officially witnessed Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release (where permissible). The Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release must be returned and received by Promosis within five (5) days of the date the document is sent to the Semi-Finalist. Failure to comply will result in disqualification, at the discretion of the Administrator and Sponsor. No prize will be awarded for being selected as a Semi-Finalist.
 
Round Two Semi-Finalist Virtual Mentorship Event, Refined Video And Judging: Verified Semi-Finalists will be invited to participate with up to one additional colleague in a virtual online mentorship event. Semi-Finalists will be coached by mentors identified by Forbes to refine their pitch, based on the original Entry. The virtual mentorship event is scheduled for 2 March 2023. Following the virtual event, semi-Finalists will be given two weeks to prepare and submit a refined video pitch, no longer than 5 minutes in duration, utilizing what they take away from the Aviram foundation and Forbes mentor coaching. Video pitches must be submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. ET USA on 16 March 2023. Semi-Finalists will be given instructions on how to submit their Refined Videos. Semi-Finalist Refined Video pitches will be judged by a steering committee/judging panel from Aviram foundation, Forbes, and Promosis by approximately 30 March 2023, to determine not more than five (5) Finalists. Semi-Finalists may be subject to a background check as allowed by law prior to being deemed a Finalist. 
 
Final Round Finalist Live Event: The five (5) Finalists will be notified of their Finalist status on or around 3 April 2023. Finalists and up to one additional colleague will be invited to participate in the final round of the Competition, in person, currently planned to be in Morocco, in early May 2023 to present their final pitches “live” on stage, with a follow-up Question and Answer session with the judges following the on-stage presentation. The on-stage presentation and Question and Answer session will be up to 10 minutes (4 minutes for the pitch; 6 minutes for the Q&A). Final Round live event judging will be conducted by a live panel of judges to determine the three (3) Contest winners. Judges in the Final Round are subject to availability. Contest winners will be announced during the closing reception of the event. Finalists will be provided one hotel room for one night. No other expenses will be covered. Finalists may be required by their country of origin to obtain a travel visa.
 
5.  Prizes: One (1) First Place Prize: $500,000 USD. One (1) Second Place Prize: $100,000 USD. One (1) Third Place Prize: $50,000 USD received by the Aviram Foundation. Winners will have the option of specifying how they would prefer to receive the prize money or company investment in a fair market value with specific terms to be determined by the Aviram foundation. The Aviram foundation may decline a company investment preference at its sole discretion. Each winner is solely responsible for any inquiry needed and for any and all applicable taxes on the value of the prize. In no event will Sponsor be obligated to award more than the number of prizes stated in these Official Rules.  Prize may not be transferred, a transfer to a related company, for the purpose of receiving the prize money as a company investment, will not be considered a prohibited transfer, without prejudice to the Aviram foundation’s right to approve the company.

6.  Eligibility: Contest is open to entrepreneurs who are legal residents of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates who are twenty-one (21) years of age or older at the time of entry. Entrant must either hold an ownership stake in the business or hold a position within the company that is responsible for or influences the direction of the company (or concept) that is the subject of his/her Entry. This Contest is not open to individuals representing publicly traded companies. The Contest is not open to employees, immediate family members of employees (spouses, parents, children, siblings and their respective spouses), or those living in the same household of employees, of any of the following parties: Forbes Media LLC, the Aviram Foundation, Promosis, Inc., their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, assigns, shareholders, officers, employees, agents, or advertising or marketing agencies, or Administrator (collectively, the “Releasees”). Entrants consent to the use of their registration information in accordance with the Forbes.com privacy statement, available at: https://www.forbes.com/fdc/privacy.html. Contest is void where prohibited by law or regulation. All jurisdictional laws and regulations apply. 

7.  Use of Entry And Publicity: By submitting an Entry, entrant hereby grants Forbes and its promotion partners a non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, fully paid-up and royalty-free, sub-licensable, transferable right to exploit the copyright in the Entry and any and all ancillary rights therein in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, the right to use, publish, distribute, copy, edit, adapt, and perform your Entry or any elements thereof (including any supplemental information or materials provided by entrant in connection with the Contest, such as name and likeness) online, in print, or in any other format, for any commercial or noncommercial purposes (e.g., marketing; advertising or native advertising; promotion; editorial coverage), whether related or unrelated to the Contest, and whether or not entrant is selected as a Winner. Forbes is under no obligation to use entrant’s submission in any manner, and use of one’s entry is not indicative of whether entrant is entitled to any Prize. Forbes is not responsible for any unauthorized use of Entry by a third party. Forbes may use third-party platforms, including, but not limited to, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote the Contest and/or Entry. Entrant acknowledges that no such promotions featured on the social media channels of Forbes, or other assets owned, controlled, or engaged by such parties, are sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with any such social media sites, and hereby release such social media sites from any and all matters relating to the Contest. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that their participation in the Contest and/or potential selection as a Winner will not constitute a sponsorship or endorsement of entrant or entrant’s business or concept by Forbes, the Aviram Foundation, or Promosis. Entrants agree to be contacted and be open to interviews/media coverage, either by Forbes or Middle Eastern entities.

8.  Limitation of Liability: Aviram foundation, Forbes, Promosis, and their promotion partners are not responsible for typographical errors in any Contest-related materials, or for any individual’s inability to enter the Contest or participate in any of the Rounds thereof, for any reason whatsoever, including but not limited to unavailable network, server, or other connections; failed software or hardware transmissions; other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical, or electronic, including lost, late, incomplete, damaged, or misdirected entries; or for any damage to any computer related to or resulting from participation, or any inability to participate in person in the Final Round Live Event currently planned to be conducted in Morocco. Multiple entries and those generated by script, macro, or other automated entry devices are not valid and will be disqualified. Forbes reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel or suspend the Contest should any of the foregoing occurrences corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness, or proper play of the Contest. If the Contest is canceled for any reason, including but not limited to those listed above, winners will be determined from entries received up to the time of cancellation, in accordance with the Judging Criteria, unless otherwise indicated by Forbes. Entrants agree that Aviram foundation, Forbes, Promosis, and the other Releasees shall not be liable for, and are hereby released from, any claims relating to injury, losses, damages, or costs of any kind resulting from participation in this Contest or acceptance of or use or misuse of a prize or parts thereof. 

9.  Dispute Resolution: THIS CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT RESPECT TO CONFLICT OF LAW DOCTRINES. As a condition of participating in this Contest, participant agrees that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, by ICC arbitration or exclusively before a court located in New York having jurisdiction. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, other than participants’ actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with entering this Contest), and participant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

10.  Winners List: For the names of the winners, send a standard-size postcard, only, with return address to: Forbes / Aviram Awards 2023 Winners List, P.O. Box 38, Marblehead, MA 01945 USA. Requests must be received by 31 May 2023. Do not send any other correspondence to this address.

11. Sponsor and Events Host: Forbes Media LLC, 499 Washington Blvd., Jersey City, NJ, USA 07310

12. Administrator: Promosis, Inc., 89 Front Street, Suite 205, Marblehead, MA, USA 01945

© 2022-2023 Promosis, Inc. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Promosis, Inc.